Preview

What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Universal Health Care System

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
780 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Are The Pros And Cons Of A Universal Health Care System
Maintaining good health is merely essential to staying alive. However, we are only human, and getting sick is inevitable. We are extremely fortunate in the sense that we have health care available to us; that being said, it has become a considerably costly commodity. Most health care systems involve a mixture of universal and private provision in order to finance these services. Canada's health care system is primarily funded by the taxpayer's dollar through the universal health care sector. On the other hand, the United State’s health care is typically funded by private insurance, either through their employer or their insurance companies. Universal and private systems are rather different in several ways, however, do have their own pros and …show more content…
People have the option of either purchasing health insurance, or receiving health insurance as a benefit from their employer. As in all things, there are both pro’s and con’s to this system. For example, nearly 1 in 3 Americans don’t have health insurance (Sicko). It is hard to get granted insurance, as most companies have very explicit outlines of injuries and ailments that will not be insured (diabetes, autism, some cancers, etc). It is also a lot more expensive to have this kind of insurance. Alas, making money is the game; Dr. Linda Pino, who worked for one company called Blue Shield, made a confession that stated that her primary duty was to use her medical expertise for the financial benefit of the organization she worked for, and was told that “she wasn’t denying care, she was denying payment” (Sicko). The main goal for these companies is to maximize profits, it’s just a question of how far they’ll go to do …show more content…
With the private health care system, patients are less likely to have to worry about things such as lines or wait times. All treatments are given by fully certified doctors, and will be given as efficiently as possible. Patients also don’t need a referral from a doctor in order to see a specialist. One major benefit of universal health care in Canada, on the other hand, is that it is given to everyone - as long as you are a citizen of Canada, you will be given care. I feel secure in the fact that if I got hurt, I know I could go to the emergency room and get the care I needed. There are other parts of the world that are nowhere near as fortunate. From an economical standpoint, universal health care lowers cost for the economy because of the way the government distributes and prices medical services and medication. I also believe this system makes it so that the doctor’s and patient’s exchange goes smoother. They are free to do what they need and want in order to facilitate the correct care, without having to worry about the rules and restrictions surrounding the private system’s way of doing

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    The Canadian health care system, although flawed, is privilege. There are only a number of countries that has a similar healthcare system where basic health care needs are covered by the government (i.e. France, Denmark, Germany, UK, etc.), the rest have a privatized health care system where an individual would have to pay for each visit and procedure depending on the amount their insurance covers (i.e. USA, Philippines, etc.).…

    • 263 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For the past 8 decades, the U.S. has run its country on a private health care system where the individual pays for their choice of health care. Depending on the coverage of the health care amounts to the cost. In the U.S, government funding for health care is limited to Medicare, Medicaid, Veterans Administration and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which covers senior citizens, the very poor, disabled people, veterans and their families and children. The United States is the only country in the developing world that does not have a fundamentally public tax-supported health care system.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In terms of access to health care and coverage, the Canadian health care system is more efficient compared to the U.S. health care system. This can be attributed to the fact that Canada offers universal health care access to its citizens, contrary to the U.S. Furthermore, it is revealed that approximately 40 per cent of the United States citizens do not have access to health care insurance schemes (Naylor, 2003). Studies further depict that one out of every five non-elderly U.S. citizens are not insured in terms of health care, considering the fact that the U.S. health care system is mostly privately funded. It is evident that the federal government of the U.S. has no provisions for universal access to health care, contrary to the Canadian health care plans whereby the Canadian government assures its citizens of universal access to health care and associated facilities. Although access to health care system in both countries is still problematic,…

    • 1678 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Cmho's Accreditation Program

    • 3328 Words
    • 14 Pages

    Health care in Canada is known as ‘Medicare’. Public finances health care system in Canada but it is run privately. It provides universal treatment along…

    • 3328 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    These pros and cons definitely need to be considered before implementing a universal health care system. One advantage is the fact that everyone will be able to receive health care. This benefits not only citizens, but physicians as well. According to Crone (2010, p.171), “Doctors and dentists would deal with one bureaucracy rather than fifty government bureaucracies and many insurance bureaucracies.” This will relieve so much stress for doctors because they will not have to talk to several insurance companies about what services they will cover for their patients. Another advantage is that there will be a reduction in health care costs. According to ProCon.org (2015), “healthcare spending could be lowered by $592 billion and up to $1.8 trillion over the next decade.” This is an exceptional advantage because it could reduce the national deficit and the money could be used elsewhere to help the…

    • 1215 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    As the book, One Nation Uninsured: Why the U.S. Has No National Health Insurance by Jill Quadagno states, “in 2003 45 million Americans, more than one out of every six people, had no health insurance”. Although the right to health care is recognized and guaranteed in the constitution of many nations; the United States is the only country that does not provide health care coverage to all of its citizens. The healthcare situation in the United States is only expected to get worse. As the Centers for Medicare and Medic-aid Services predict, “health spending will reach $2.8 trillion by 2011 — a staggering 17 percent of the gross domestic product” (Epsein 1). Many experts, such as U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, chief of the Government Accountability Office, warn that if there is one thing that can bankrupt America, it is health care.…

    • 2083 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the good things to getting Universal Healthcare would be saving many peoples lives. About 40% of people are uninsured by bringing this they would be able to go to the doctors and get the help they need. Right now many people do not go to the doctors or hospital because they are not insured and may not be able to afford to pay the medical bills. A study in 2009 by Harvard researches had said that the, "lack of healthcare insurances is associated with as many as 44,789 deaths per year." Also, another study is that countries with Universal Healthcare the people there live 2-3 years more, than countries that do not.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Single Payer System

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Whereas; the United States has a multi payer system. Health care plan has assigned restriction on which hospital and doctors individuals in the United States can visit for medical assistance. At least 40 million people are not insured; many Americans are living in fear of losing whatever care they have, cost-savings are driving patients out of bed early, administration costs are approaching…

    • 1361 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Canadian Health Care System

    • 2959 Words
    • 12 Pages

    This paper defines both The United States Health Care System and the Canadian Health Care System. It compares the significant differences between the two. It provides in full detail the single-payer system verses the multi-payer system. Medical spending and administrative costs are outlined and compared. Wealth and Health is thoroughly explained regarding…

    • 2959 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Canada's health care system has been one of the main subjects in political debates in the country. Some of these political groups doubt the capabilities of the existing health care system to deliver treatments in a timely…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Universal Heath Care is benefical to the heath of the community."rising healthcare costs are causing more and more Americans to go bankrupt. These people may simply be too poor to afford adequate healthcare, they may have insufficient healthcare for a major crisis, or they may have simply lost their healthcare benefits when they lost their job"(Obama,associatedcontent.com).If having private heath care causes staggering results,than private isnt the route to take. Many indultiralize nations has instated government heatlh care. Government health provides the nation at large an opoutunity for proper heatlcare.…

    • 352 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Around 30% of Americans have problem accessing health care due to payment problems or access to care, far more than any other industrialized country. About 17% of our population is without health insurance. About 75% of ill uninsured people have trouble accessing/paying for health care. Comparisons of Difficulties Accessing Care Are Shown To Be Greater In The US Than Canada. Access to health care is directly related to income and race in the United States. As a result the poor and minorities have poorer health than the wealthy. There would be no lines under a universal health care system in the United States because we have about a 30% oversupply of medical equipment and surgeons, whereas demand would increase about 15%. The US denies access to health care based on the ability to pay. Under a universal health care system all would access care. There would be no lines as in other industrialized countries due to the oversupply in our providers and infrastructure, and the willingness/ability of the United States to spend more on health care than other industrialized…

    • 682 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The editorial primarily focuses on comparing Canada's healthcare system with the U.S. system, and uses many statistics. One statistic used to support their argument is that, "The U.S. spends far more on health care than any other country – 16.6 per cent of gross domestic product, compared to just 10 per cent in Canada. " The author's point in using this statistic is that the U.S. pays more money for worse healthcare. Another statistic used is that the amount of people without healthcare is equal to the population of Canada. The author also addresses the fact that Canadian healthcare is nowhere near perfect, and could improve, but is significantly better than the United…

    • 546 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    America currently is not the world leader when it comes to the health and well being of our citizens or the quality of treatment. Switzerland is the world leader when it comes to health insurance. This is mainly because it has a universal healthcare program, allowing more patients to be treated. The United States would save an average of $189.5 billion if a universal healthcare system is established. A universal program could have a rather large impact in both these areas. This would enable medical staffers to be able to concentrate on the health and well being of each individual and less around liability, malpractice and insurance procedures. A program like this should reduce healthcare costs. Countries with universal healthcare spend millions…

    • 651 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Universal Healthcare

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages

    A universal healthcare system would not only provide healthcare for all, it would also help decrease our healthcare spending and better health issues among Americans. The U.S is the only industrialized nation that does not have universal healthcare (Hohman, 2006). The following are a dew countries that view healthcare as a right; France, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Each of these countries have healthcare guaranteed for each and every citizen. They have different ways of providing that right, but have the same results.…

    • 662 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays